"Do you think this is a dream?" Ling Yi asked with a smile. At that moment, Ling Yi looked Divine and gentle, seemingly radiating light.
"I don't know." For an instant, Strange suspected that Ling Yi meant him harm, but then he thought about how he had nothing left. There seemed to be nothing about him worth scheming for.
Would someone really go to such lengths just for the villa and that five hundred thousand? For him as he was now, it simply wasn't worth it. A gun would be enough to deal with him.
"This is magic!" Ling Yi snapped his fingers again as he spoke. Their surroundings changed once more, and the two appeared in a world of ice and snow.
Strange instantly felt a bone-piercing chill and began shivering uncontrollably.
The sky was still azure blue, but the ground was an endless snowfield.
Blue motes of light kept appearing around them, drifting slowly toward Strange as though guided by something.
"Don't resist. Accept them!" Ling Yi reminded him.
Strange froze for a moment, then decided to follow Ling Yi's instructions.
As the blue motes merged into his body, the cold he felt actually began fading little by little. Or, more accurately, he seemed to be adapting to it.
"What is this?"
"Magic elements. The green motes you saw earlier were wood elements, and what you're sensing now are water elements."
With that, Ling Yi snapped his fingers again. This time, they appeared somewhere that resembled hell.
Flowing lava surrounded them, while they stood on a huge boulder.
The scorching heat instantly drenched Strange's back in sweat, but this time, he was much steadier.
Enduring the intense heat, he pointed at the red motes around them and asked, "Are these fire elements?"
Ling Yi nodded and said with great satisfaction, "You really are clever."
With that, the scene changed again, and they were back inside the villa.
There was the same familiar living room, the familiar coffee cups, and the steam rising from the coffee.
Strange felt his entire outlook on life suffer an unprecedented shock.
"You're a born Magic Mage with an exceptionally high talent for magic. You should have sensed how drawn those magic elements were to you just now. I've never seen anything like it."
Ling Yi was telling the truth. During his time secretly learning at the Dragon Ball Magic Academy, not even the academy's most gifted student could make magic elements approach them of their own accord.
No wonder the Ancient One had taken a liking to him, and he would become the Sorcerer Supreme.
But Ling Yi wasn't particularly keen on the Ancient One's system of magic. He always felt that Kamar-Taj's magic was an aberration.
What Magic Mage didn't cultivate magic themselves, but instead constantly borrowed power from demon gods in other dimensions?
What Magic Mage couldn't even cast a fireball or lightning spell, and instead fought at close quarters with sticks, knives, and fans?
Magic Mages ought to look the part, wearing mage robes and summoning forbidden spells with a snap of their fingers. Kamar-Taj's magic was simply painful to look at.
"If you're willing, I can take you as my disciple, teach you magic, and make you a powerful Magic Mage."
Strange raised both hands and asked, "Can it heal my hands?"
"If you're willing, I can heal your hands right now. It's just wood-type healing magic, one of the simplest spells. But you can also learn magic and heal your hands yourself."
Strange was gradually coming to believe Ling Yi's words. The door to a wondrous world was opening before him.
It filled him with curiosity. How could being a surgeon compare to being a Magic Mage?
"Teacher, teach me!" Strange said, his eyes shining.
"You must agree to two conditions!" Ling Yi said solemnly.
"First, hold justice in your heart and make protecting this world your foremost duty."
"Second, do not teach magic to anyone else without permission."
"If you betray justice, I will personally erase you. If you teach others without permission, I will take back both your magic power and theirs, and erase the relevant memories."
"Yes, Teacher!" Strange accepted both conditions in his heart and thoroughly agreed with them. Ling Yi's image rose considerably in his estimation.
Ling Yi touched a finger to Strange's forehead, directly transmitting the Dragon Ball Magic Academy's system of magic into his memory.
At the same time, Ling Yi strengthened Strange's Yang Soul. The stronger the Yang Soul, the greater one's mental power and comprehension would be. Ling Yi didn't want to spend a great deal of time training a disciple.
Strange's clothes also changed into an exceedingly magnificent set of azure mage robes covered in replicated golden patterns.
Many people had probably played MU. Those who hadn't could search for the MU Magic Mage's +11 Legend set.
Ling Yi had completely modeled it on the entire Legend set except for the helmet. At that moment, Strange shimmered with flowing colors, looking incomparably noble.
This was equipment Ling Yi had created through Faith Manifestation.
"This set of mage robes is called Legend. It has extremely strong defense, enhances magic attacks, and increases the speed of magic cultivation. You can fly by expending magic power, and you can change its appearance however you like. You can simply turn it into ordinary clothes for everyday use. This is my gift to welcome you as my disciple."
Strange's eyes lit up, and he stroked the robes, unable to put them down.
Sensing the additional knowledge of magic in his mind, Strange felt he had already reached the pinnacle of his life.
"The Dragon Ball Magic I've taught you is divided into six branches: elemental, support, phantom beast, transformation, light, and darkness. You can decide for yourself which branch to choose."
"Teacher, can't I choose them all?" Strange asked greedily.
"Though I wouldn't recommend it, you can try. After all, your talent is the best I've ever seen."
As he spoke, Ling Yi snapped his fingers again... For some reason, he had become very fond of snapping his fingers.
A ring and a wristwatch appeared before Strange.
"This is a spatial ring. As for how much space it has, take a look yourself. I've put some things inside for you. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask the puppet inside the ring."
"This watch is called a Teleportation Wristwatch. Just record a place you've visited in the watch, and next time, you can use it to arrive there instantly."
Strange touched this and examined that, so excited that he didn't know which to investigate first.
Ling Yi tapped the table. The next moment, Strange felt the ground vanish beneath his feet. A black hole appeared below him, and he fell straight through with a scream.
By the time Strange came to his senses, he had fallen into a river.
"This is an alternate world. I copied Earth's environment inside it on a one-to-one scale. Focus on cultivating magic in there," Ling Yi's voice rang out beside Strange's ear.
Strange looked utterly dumbfounded. Was his teacher really this powerful? Had he simply copied an Earth?
"Time flows differently in here than outside. One day outside is one month inside. If you can cultivate to Earth Grade within a month, I'll give you this alternate world."
Strange couldn't help breathing faster. Holy shit, he was giving him an entire "Earth"? Could his teacher be any more extravagant?
This so-called alternate world was also something Ling Yi had manifested through Faith Manifestation.
This ability was simply too convenient. Combined with his virtually inexhaustible Power of Faith, Ling Yi didn't care at all about wasting it.
"A Capsule? This is actually space-folding technology? Luxury cars, villas, mechas! Teacher, you're awesome!"
"Senzu Beans? As long as you're not dead, you can recover completely in an instant? Even severed limbs can regrow? Teacher, you're awesome!" His voice cracked.
"So this is how Legend's flight function works. These wings are way too cool! Teacher..."
Inside the villa outside, Ling Yi "watched" Strange shouting excitedly in the alternate space and couldn't help feeling rather speechless. Strange probably wouldn't calm down anytime soon.
Blocking out the alternate world, Ling Yi looked toward a spot in the room.
The next moment, sizzling welding effects appeared, and a ring of light flickering with sparks expanded into existence in the living room.
Master Ancient One stepped out of the ring.
"Outsider, hand Strange over," The Ancient One said, her expression extremely grim.
"No." Ling Yi refused flatly.
"You're poaching him! You have no martial virtue! You should know Strange's original mission. If you steal Strange away, what am I supposed to do?"
"..." Ling Yi looked at the Ancient One with a strange expression. Shouldn't you have come straight at me swinging? Are you planning on fighting with words instead? This isn't like you.
"I can't beat you!" The Ancient One saw what Ling Yi meant and spoke helplessly.
"Strange is right to follow me. Your Kamar-Taj magic is all heresy. What I'm teaching him is true magic."
"You're the heretic! Kamar-Taj's magic has been passed down for thousands of years, and you dare call it heresy? If I could beat you, I'd challenge you to a duel."
Watching the Ancient One fume, Ling Yi couldn't help bursting into laughter. This Ancient One was simply too amusing.
"What are you laughing at? Since you stole my disciple, you'll have to help me deal with Dormammu."
"Sure!"
"I mean you have to help me deal with him right now."
"I said, sure!"